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sick I know marab was getting involved there as well but was you could you take anything out of that interaction or not really uh nothing nothing really you know it was the first time I was really face to face without you I’ve had confrontation with them and had like with our clothes on but you know Santa he’s jacked that dude’s jacked but he’s not he’s not big he’s not big um you know he fights his chin up a little bit I just let him know you know I tuck that chin a little bit I’m gonna find it obviously it’s going to be built as this Grappler versus Striker matchup but even in in this fight we saw that you know his striking is pretty unorthodox he kind of moves he bends over a lot when you look at his Style versus your style how do you see the fight playing out and where do you think you find success you know the way I’d be algae was focused 25 minutes uh disciplined you know straight punches and uh you know I don’t give give away too much but you know alja was beatable he’s very beatable I thought he lost tonight um very excited for this last one for me when when can we expect it I think he said September in there but if you had a preference when would you like to fight the sooner the better um you know we’ll see we’ll see what the UFC says I’m sure I’m sure they’re getting something figured out here very soon yeah Sean um obviously as competitive fighting there do you know which rounds exactly he felt that Henry is winning or is it kind of hard to keep track um I I it’s hard to keep track I would be I had hate to be a judge to be honest you know watching the fight you know as long if you’re not writing it down I forget but I do I do remember kind of thinking you know Henry was up yeah and um obviously what do you do end up fighting him like he seems like he’s you know had some close fights yawn all that stuff what do you need to do to make it definitive so it’s not this kind of coin toss when it goes down to the wire do what Marlon Murray’s did put his lights out that’s you know that’s how you get the job done and you being kind of fantasizing about this day that you fight for a title and become world champion since very early on it’s here it’s very soon um just how motivating exciting is that for you yeah you know the sugar area is about to start starts with aljo um very excited been you know no I’m not running low on motivation thank you Sean over here um so congratulations thank you I wasn’t gonna say um I was gonna ask are you willing to fight like here or in New York if uh they do an MSG card yeah absolutely and like how long would you be willing to wait because sometimes people complain algae likes to take time in between fights I don’t think he’s got a choice he doesn’t have a choice he’s gonna fight sooner than later and then you kind of got into the Styles but are you at all concerned with the wrestling especially him being able to keep up with Triple C tonight yeah everyone Styles different styles make matchups I do believe I uh I’m gonna be very hard to get a hold of and uh it’s gonna be a very interesting fight I’m excited for it thanks guys this work but I’m on that box yeah okay all right so of course you can you can chill now pause one second the audio box was off okay you know I told them give me one here you have audio sorry about that what up congrats man um obviously hard-fought Victory short notice and everything just give us your immediate thoughts on what happened tonight um my media thoughts were I told you guys I’m the best welterweight in the world and to go out there and be the guy like Gilbert Burns three weeks notice coming off the Ramadan uh you guys have no idea what we went through to get to here but I love my team love my crew and uh I know with our faith in ourselves and our faith in God we get through anything so tell us about what you went through because there’s a lot of the uh Twitter investigative journalists looking at you stepping off the scale and walking into the Arena tonight maybe a limp did you come into this fight injured yeah I mean you go into every fight a little bit enjoy especially a three week notice fight you’re you’re like wanting to rush into stuff and you get right into hard training and then you go through a couple things but like I said there’s nothing that was going to stop me from walking to this case tonight there’s nothing that was gonna stop me from not doing it because this is my chance this is my moment to um prove to the world and show the world what I’m capable of doing and to do that I know that there was no pulling out there was nothing like oh man you know what never mind it was like once I made the decision we had to go through with it and uh thank God we got through it so uh looking ahead who do you think you are going to be fighting for the Welterweight Title will be Leon Edwards or Colby Covington both of them can get it I cannot wait man I’m just glad that the boss the man Dana White shout out to Dana for saying it and giving me the opportunity to fight for my shot and now I earned my shot I took my shot there’s no denying me now um all I needed to hear was there’s nothing next but the title shot so can’t wait perfect world when do you make this happen perfect world we’re fighting in October in Abu Dhabi that’s the perfect world but uh I know both those guys my brother so you got the champ right there that’s when you got a chance saying you deserve the title shot that means that says a lot about you shout out to Jamal hell um but yeah perfect world’s fighting in Abu Dhabi that would be amazing you know there ain’t gonna be no booing out there uh to fight over there in front of my people would be uh great but wherever it goes man we can fight an enemy territory and friendly territory and no territory uh just give me a cage and some gloves and I’m ready to throw down are you trying to bounce out of New Jersey as quickly as possible tonight or what no I got the any of that I took a picture of Frankie agar nobody appreciates me man not here uh congratulations on the win and making every New Jersey resident rethink their life decisions and living here so congratulations um so obviously Leon Edwards has a championship but Kobe Covington he talks a lot he knows how to sell a fight uh you know how to sell a fight and as telling by the press conference of how entertaining you were would you for selfish reasons would you say maybe I want that fight with Kobe Club then two marketable guys two guys that know how to talk shoot that jive and and have that entertaining uh build up going into the fight yeah I mean I’ve been wanting to fight that guy for years like literally since I got into the UFC when I just wanted to fight him and punch him in his face he just has that face you know you ever watch Step Brothers that face it you want to just punch Cody cousin has that face but he’s that guy like if he gets that title I could see him wanting to sit out for another two years what it’s been a year and a half since his father like he’s not a guy that wants to be active Leon Edwards we have unfinished business he beat the the goat he has the longest winning streak so for me taking that title from him especially the way that last fight went and for him to be satisfied with a fight decision like that it could go sweeter either way like both some guys could taste my fists and I’ll be happy with either one and in the fight with uh Gilbert Burns obviously he was uh going to the decision and when did you realize and what round did you realize that he was uh potentially her and start to readjust okay I got a watch out for the right gotta watch out for kicks uh the left hand is going to be uh uh nullified um you know we’re we’re looking at it my coaching notice in the fourth round and he brought it to my attention but um he’s still a dangerous guy and he’s got one of those guys where when he’s hurt that’s when he’s most dangerous so we still just had to be careful because she was still throwing bombs and I was like all right you caught me with that one a little bit so it’s just uh he’s not on the ropes yet he’s still there and uh like we saw when it comes out fight when he’s hurt that’s when he’s the scariest uh congratulations on the win and even though I’m a New Jersey resident you said we suck congratulations it was an awesome performance I I’m sorry I just don’t curse though like that’s always my one-liner is you guys suck but I love the Jersey man Sopranos is the best blog right here again congrats man uh the booze are you is that like fuel for you do you like that because that was really loud dude I don’t know how you did that I honestly it was amazing it was like good energy like any type of energy it’s I’d rather have that type of energy than no energy right and um I I felt it I knew it was gonna come especially for the press conference and the weigh-ins so like I was prepared for it like I was having my coach boob me in the locker room uh and he was booming me as I was hitting past like bro all right we’re done and he was like no I want to keep booing you I was all right cool so we prepare for everything we’re ready for everything at all points um like I said enemy territory friendly territory uh we can throw it on anywhere and then coming off a knockout win now largely standing against someone a lot of people said well you know in quotes outstrike you are you falling in love with your hands a little bit man nah I’m just I love falling in love with proving people wrong like people don’t understand the work we put in me and my team my guys I’m working with the best team in the world and people are going to start asking us literally to write books like man what do you guys do for training I get so many uh Fighters hey what do you guys do with that drill how do you guys drill like that and it’s like we’re doing the right things I think we have the perfect uh mindset the perfect team the perfect guys around me the perfect circle and we showing you guys we could do anything my last fight I wanted a box this fight I wanted a kick the last fight before that I wanted to wrestle don’t fight before that I wanted to maybe the next time I’ll pull guard I’m gonna show you guys that I can do it all it’s martial arts mixed martial arts and I can do all the mixing and last one for me October being that there’s no announcement for Leon and Colby yet might be a bit soon for the title how long are you willing to wait for that fight I mean As Long As I Got the guaranteed shot that’s all I needed to hear so now I know what’s next I know that for this fight right here I’m sitting there I’m like waiting I’m stuck in limbo I didn’t know what was gonna happen who’s gonna fight next what was gonna happen next so then they called me with a fight on three weeks notice they’re like all right I’m gonna jump on the opportunity because I’m a guy that’s always training always trying to work always thinking and I’m hungry you guys don’t know how hungry I am for this title shot you don’t know how hungry I am to win this gold and I know it doesn’t matter what I have to do I’m gonna get there so I popped up and took this opportunity and two three days in three weeks notice just because he said you win this fight you’re getting a title shot so now that I have the title shot Whoever has the belt is like you don’t have no idea what’s going to come to you it’s going to be the best version of me that you’ve ever seen in your life because this was three weeks notice give me eight weeks notice give me 12 weeks notice so it’s gonna be harder for them guys so they if I’m them I want to fight right away and then you know get a a quick turnaround right away so they don’t have to deal with the best version of me quick version over here on your far left Muhammad far left far left keep looking left hi oh quick question for you about the output from Gilbert it seemed a little slow in the early rounds and obviously he got hurt and it you know didn’t pick up but we use it at all surprise that he wasn’t throwing a whole lot more than he was no I think my team did a good job of reading what we wanted to do we wanted to attack the body uh hard with the left kick and when people go in there and they feel my left kick it hurts and they don’t want to throw off that I caught him a couple times where he threw his big overhand and I caught him with the body kick and I think that me switching stances it made him overthink the process and when I have you overthinking you don’t want to throw because he’s wondering oh he switched to this dance switch to that stance he’s the guy that usually plants his feet and he wants to throw off a plane of his feet and if I’m always moving over always messing with his mind trying to make him faint and stuff like that he can’t plan his feet he can’t throw so I think that played a big part in it below another Ramadan uh another win is there something to it maybe the the fast thing like you’re saying you’re hungry but I’m sure you’re also literally hungry at times during this uh is there something like mentally you could speak about the type of focus that you go through during this period of the year yeah I think that you know more than fasting more than not eating is like the a deep cleansing of your spirit and of your soul and I think that that I’m like my purest form right after Ramadan because that’s when I’ve gotten closest to God and that’s with me trusting God’s plan no matter what and even with this fight I took it after each notice and it was like one weekend I was like man I still got this much weight to cut I got this injury what the heck why would I take this fight I should have pull out I should have did this but it’s like God put me here for a reason God made this happen for a reason God’s timing is the best timing so no matter what happens just trust them thank you guys hello thank you all right gang the attendance was 17 559 sold out the gate was 5.12 Million highest grossing uh sporting event in the Arena’s history fight of the night was uh mosvar versus Lopez and performance of the night went to Jana fervola they all won 50 000. what’s up buddy obviously Dana fun Main Event technical Main Event close Main Event how did you score it in the final fight tonight yeah I I mean I had uh I had all Joe win in the fight yeah but but still close right very close fight yeah what did you think of Henry’s performance after three years away from the incredible yeah you know I’m a big believer in ring rust and you know not only did he fight five tough uh rounds against the guy much bigger than him um you know yeah he looked good and then for algeman it looked like initially Henry might have the resting Advantage but alja was able to take his back a couple of times get the hooks in what was your reaction one of the things that impresses me about Henry sahuto is like the Mariah’s fight after the first round I said ooh Henry’s in trouble tonight and then he makes these adjustments and comes back in the second round and and looks unbelievable so um yeah I thought both guys fought a hell of a fight before this fight we were talking about whoever wins it does something for their legacy right for aljo it cements him as being one of the best bantamweights of all time do you think after that performance that is fair that he is one of those the best yeah it was a big win for him it was obviously a big win you know there’s a lot of uh like I said leading up to this fight you know there’s the Peter yawn fight and and then there’s the de la Shaw fight and you know going in and and and and you know grueling it out for five rounds with Henry sahuto regardless of the weight and size differences it’s a big deal to beat Henry you know you usually don’t make fights on the night of the fight but you’re gonna ask me anyway well I feel like it’s fair to say short I’m out he’s probably next for Al Jermaine Sterling right I mean that what that sure no Mali might just be next round yeah yeah I’ve had better ideas than uh than what I did tonight uh not a great idea but yes he’s next when you bring him into the cage and they have the face off and then you slowly see it start to escalate with mirab do you just saying I should yeah yeah it was a bad idea do we have any sort of timeline on when we’d like to do that fight um yeah probably August okay in Boston probably okay cool uh Gilbert Burns blah Mohammed below got the win Gilbert looked to be fighting kind of injured I’m curious with your reaction to that fight yeah he he had a tear on his shoulder I think it was that first scramble on the ground there when he took him down and uh he’s got a tear yeah and we saved stay below is fighting the winner of Leon versus Colby and and what’s that yeah yeah 100 okay and the last one for me I wanted to sort of give some props to Diego Lopez stepped in on Friday’s notice against mozvar nearly tapped him in the first round fought really hard in the third round of five days notice pretty impressive awesome incredible performance uh kids got a ton of heart he’s an absolute dog loved every minute of it yeah and what did we think of his haircut uh well listen he fought so good let’s leave his haircut alone uh go ahead um dude I want to ask about yanchon and obviously a great finish of Jessica and Josh we had her back here and I was asking her like how big a fight between her and Jane could be for China um do you have any insight on like the metrics of oh maybe you can’t do it there right now but like what could that do for that market that you guys have been continuing to push into you know what’s crazy is Teddy Atlas was sitting with me during that fight and uh and Raj kept throwing lead left hooks and and he says if she keeps this girl throws great straight right hands if she keeps throwing that lead left hook she’s going to knock her out with a straight right he literally called exactly what was going to happen and she threw like three hooks in a row he literally called it two minutes before it happened because he kept throwing these lead left he says when people are sparring and they’re throwing lead left hooks like that against somebody who can throw I literally jump in the ring and tell him to stop and and I break up the whole sparring and break it down but he literally called that that was going to happen um yeah I don’t know what we’re gonna do with you on where she’s gonna go but I’m definitely gonna look at China yeah you could potentially go back to China and yeah that there I’m looking at that right now and uh what did you think of crow and Gracie tonight you know I like Chrome a lot and uh he’s a good kid um he came in very limited tonight very limited you know it’s like coming out of a time capsule in 1995. you know what I mean tough way to try to win a fight these days yeah 30th Anniversary you’d never think you’d kind of see that well the kids got a ton of heart he’s got a good chin I like him and uh you know I don’t I don’t want to on his performance but yeah that was a rough rough game plan yeah and uh on the featured prelim map for Vol a great finish first person to knock out Drew Dober in like 12 years or something um he keeps calling out Patty he wants this fight real real bad I know Patty’s nursing some injuries but to see a guy maybe you look at to grant that wish just I I have no idea I mean all these fights at that level are all about timing you know what I mean yeah and uh last thing nothing to do with this card but the last few days we’ve seen uh Alex pohara and Israel adesanya going back and forth a lot on social media and Alex is kind of hinting that he wants that MMA Trilogy do you have any indication is he still wanting to go to 205 or is he maybe reconsidering to try to get that fight again first of all I didn’t even know that um but yeah no he’s going to 205 yeah any idea when we could see that debut no none all right thank you all right did you ever hear you right hey uh so May 20th aldana is out of the main event do you guys have a new main event for that card May 20th aldana’s out oh yeah yeah you’re talking about uh Raquel yeah yeah yeah yeah no no we don’t have we don’t have another fight for that Raquel’s gonna be the backup uh for that fight and uh yeah I don’t know what we’re doing there yet okay and then more immediately or I guess rather not more I thought you were telling me something I didn’t know and that alvana was out of the fight I was like when the did that happen nobody told me definitely not um but you know tonight bilal’s next do we have any progress with Leon and Colby no anyway congratulations on a great night uh thank you you packed a house in New Jersey a Prudential Center you came back every fight delivered how impressed were you with al-jamin Sterling and Henry Studio taking that initiative to sell this fight and pretty much pack this house or help pack this house yeah I mean um it wasn’t a matter of those guys trying to sell the fight I mean if you are a fight fan you realize that this was a great fight between two guys who stylistically match up very well um and the card was a fun card you know and and uh I love when they deliver the fights were awesome tonight from the first prelim the second prelim on throughout the rest of the night the fights were great and how impressed were you with Gilbert Burns he was obviously hurt but he glassed all five rounds he was spending with essentially one hand like how impressed were you would go with birds I’m always impressed with Gilbert Burns you know um his fight with homzachimaya was unbelievable and then what he did in Miami a few weeks ago was unbelievable in the fact that he wanted to turn around this fast uh I have nothing but respect for that kid and and to think that he would fight with one shoulder is not shocking he’s an absolute Savage and after the long layoff uh Henry siuda obviously didn’t fight uh since 2019 I he took off his gloves at the end of the fight and I got a little bit worried that he might be retiring and he said he doesn’t know what he wants are you gonna try to talk him into his stain and not you know you know he had a great performance would you talk him out if he said he wanted to retire or he wanted to there’s only been a couple guys I’ve tried to talk out of retiring at the time that they did you know it was DC and Habib um you know Henry’s been off for three years he looked great tonight against the guy who’s much bigger much stronger um but you know that’s up to him whatever he wants I mean I don’t think you should have retired the first time but um you know if he decides to retire a second time I probably wouldn’t argue with him and when’s the next time you’re coming back to the east coast and I’m not afraid to beg um yeah we’re talking about Boston this summer so yeah awesome thank you very much Dana over to your far right way over here yep um I want to ask about a little incident we saw last weekend uh Conor McGregor kind of came back a little bit he was in the ring in another promotion in bare knuckle what were your thoughts on on Conor’s activities that weekend yeah I know listen you know a few people have asked me this you know when you’re in the business like we’re in the business sometimes it’s fun to just go and be a fan and I think uh I think that’s what Conor was doing that night I have no problem whatsoever have we any movement done when that channel fight is going to happen I know we just saw the announcement that The Ultimate Fighter is going to air in a few weeks yeah any more news we don’t not yet no and I wanted to ask as well your business partner KSI back in the ring next week do you think he’s gonna win um who’s he fighting uh good 9-0 Joe Fournier interesting I have no idea I have no idea thank you thank you hey Dana yep uh after the fight marab devolish feely he took Sean O’Malley’s jacket he’s currently the number one ranked bantamweight what plans do you have for him for his next fight I don’t know he doesn’t want to fight all Joe you know what I mean so I I have no idea was that fight offered Universal Joe yeah you could have that fight tomorrow yeah Dana overview yep speaking of cross promotionals I saw the UFC Twitter account retweeted a couple weeks ago a promotion from a skateboarding Championship Series right um there’s a few connections we noticed it was on Rumble so with the slap fighting there was that’s it for Tat perhaps and it turns out that Lorenzo Fertitta is one of the owners of That League or of one of the promotions in that I’m not sure the exact details of that what was the UFC’s decision to do that was this like a favor for a friend does Endeavor have a part in this Lorenzo and I own it you’re in part of it yeah okay we own a company called 301 we own Ridiculousness we own SLS we own Nitro Circus and we own Travis Pastrana’s nrx rally car okay didn’t know that so that’s going to be just a staple in the cross promotion like slap fighting has been the staff power League I don’t know if I feel like it yes Fair um also getting into the slap putting promotion um not exactly how you probably envisited working in the base some good some bad a lot of you know publicity negative your own issues as well how is this playing forward into the next season we saw promotions of it on there it’s been incredible the deal that I just cut for for slap is bigger than the UFC deal we cut with Spike TV after the first season The Ultimate Fighter I don’t give a what the media says about it they don’t matter so money wise it’s working out is what you’re saying basically it’s unbelievable not only is it unbelievable money-wise it’s been unbelievable as far as social media goes we’re number one in all of sports and when I say all the sports if you take the NFL the NBA the NHL F1 WWE and who am I forgetting and added them all together their numbers don’t compare to slaps um yeah yeah that seems a little doubtful yeah you can doubt it all you want I mean I mean it’s covering for the finale of it and I saw the numbers on Rumble and you there were people watching but there were people watching it did 3.2 million viewers and 1.7 million of them had never been to rumble before well I was one of those that’s for sure thank you I appreciate it but it certainly that number didn’t show up on that counter that Rumble but that’s how it works when you stream when streaming it’s not really the actual number right there um it’s the same thing when you go live on Instagram I mean is Eric in here if you have a big number and you’re streaming uh how does that exactly work right yeah so he was saying 21 000 concurrents what’s a massive number when you’re streaming I mean we were the biggest stream on a Saturday for for slap the good thing is is that most of you guys don’t understand social media and how it works and who what what publication are you from MMA Mania okay we’ll I’ll give you the numbers on slap that were done by a third party that does this that we we didn’t pull the numbers these guys are like the nielsens numbers for for social media we destroy everything in sports with powerslap okay and are you at all concerned that it some of it is perhaps and I this is I’ll apologize in advance it sounds a little rude but no fire away some of it might be laughing at not with kind of a deal like bad publicity being you know do you think I give a I just did a deal that’s bigger than the Ulta than the UFC did when they went on Spike TV I don’t give a Who’s Laughing you know who’s laughing this guy there you go that’s Who’s Laughing dad answered my question thank you no my pleasure Dana right here just second row on your left yeah just wondering your thoughts on the atmosphere tonight in Newark and the fight week in general and do you want to come back here yeah it was awesome um you know it’s been a while since we’ve been here um we’ll be in Atlantic City next we’ll be back in Jersey and we’re doing Atlantic City next so um we have a great relationship with the governor here he’s been awesome to us and yeah can’t wait and then my other question is About mavsar Eve Lov he got a he got the win over he got a good win in a close fight against Diego Lopez you just talk about him his potential and what you think about him all around yeah no he’s a stud man let me tell you what that arm bar was deep and that knee bar was deep and uh you know he fought out of both of those and uh you know he’s 17-0 now and I’m excited to see him top ten see where he ends up on Tuesday after the media uh you know does their thing thank you yeah thank you Dana congratulations on another fabulous card in the New York City area uh November at the Garden has become a staple but you’ve done uh three events in the last nine months in the area and he plans to go back to Long Island maybe Brooklyn maybe Newark uh to do two events in this area once a year what’s the question any plans to do multiple events in the New York area outside of outside of Jersey in New York you mean the New York area yeah Madison Square Garden is that absolutely uh Atlantic City MSG um and uh yeah I don’t other than that I don’t know right now but those two for sure okay in a quick uh Point El Joe mentioned uh perhaps going to the Caribbean having a king of the islands uh thing what do you think about going to the Caribbean I think that sounds fun but uh highly unlikely uh yeah I bet you my entire staff will want to work that event but uh I don’t know if it’s gonna happen Al Joe said the same time yeah yeah I would love it thank you sir Dana question Henry was just so close tonight great Main Event if he does stay I know you guys had a brief conversation in the cage if he does stay what do you know it’s hard to say but two two wins one win and he’s right back in the title of attention how do you see his path if he doesn’t retire it is tough to say it would you know depend on who he fought what weight class he was in how he did I mean there’s just a lot of a lot of ifs on on something like that but uh you know coming off a three-year layoff like he has you know and again when you think about when you think about what an incredible athlete Henry sahuto is and he’s coming off a three-year layoff and you look at this this tough fight he was in tonight and then you look at Jon Jones and what Jon Jones did that’s why you just can’t really say it enough how special and how incredible John I know I know you asked me about Henry and I flipped this whole thing into a Jon Jones but it’s just so true and one of the things about Jones too I for some reason I was thinking about this tonight during the fight and uh like when he fought Alexander Gustafson it was the first time he’d ever been taken into deep water and you know John uh outside the cage didn’t make all the best decisions and who knows how hard he really trained for that fight or what he was doing before that fight but to dog it out the way that he did it’s just like you think about all the great fights that happen and you think about the stuff that Jon Jones does pretty special I know I didn’t answer your question but this is where we ended up sorry Dana right down the middle yeah we haven’t had an update on either Rose namayunas or Dustin Poirier in a while do you have anything planned for them in the coming months not off the top of my head no thank you thank you you guys done with me go ahead sir um so this is the first time we’ve had algerman Sterling as the headliner of a pay-per-view or really of any of that actually so how did you feel about him as as carrying an event here that’s hilarious um yeah I mean it was sold out highest grossing event in the Arenas history supporting event um you know it’s good it was good it was a good fight I mean people knew stylistically I mean crowd it’s in his hometown and people were cheering for Henry I don’t know what that means but uh yeah you know at the end of the day no matter what anybody thinks of either one of these guys the one thing you did know that would be a damn good fight one thing he’s been trying to do for many years as you know is is trying to get a fight in New York and he’s had some issues with the the commissions and and the Medicals and that kind of thing is that something that you know you can kind of work with the commission for to try and kind of expedite things in any meaningful way to kind of because he fights everywhere else yeah yeah I mean uh obviously we would if he wants to fight New York we do everything we could to try to make it happen I mean but you know the commission tells us what we’re going to do we don’t tell them what we’re going to do of course yeah one more thing about Main Events here we hit we are finally going to have a flyweight non-title main event for the first time in six years uh is that something you kind of realize as you’re as you’re planning these events that we really haven’t gone to flyweight to headline these fight night cards no never crossed my mind at all there’s a lot of demand for these fights people like the the flyweights they’re they’re exciting they’re fun uh is that something you might think about planning more in the future what is your question I’m confused by this to have more flyweight um you know Headliners and that kind of thing especially on Fight Night cards sure all right yeah just two quick pause yeah um speaking of bantamweights do you know what the latest with Umar and Omega Madoff is everybody is asking yeah we were talking about him earlier um you know that’s a that’s a guy not everybody’s beating the door down to fight so yeah we’ll we’ll figure something out with him how difficult is it when you have guys like that they’re just it’s really tough to get them their breakthrough fight 100 100 especially when you know it’s always hard when you have these guys that are in you know in the top 10 you know when you start going seven six five four and then this guy’s behind that you know nobody wants to take that risk on a guy that isn’t ranked it’s it’s it’s tough those are the fights listen those are the fights that publicly everybody says they’ll take but privately nobody wants to take them yeah and just last thing uh I want to drop a stop for you with Henry sujudo’s loss tonight fighters who are over 35 below the welterweight division are 2 and 29 in title fights and Tyron Woodley got both those wins uh what does that kind of say about how difficult it is for aging Fighters at the lower divisions fascinating I mean yeah I don’t know I never thought about it till right now but um yeah it’s interesting yeah it’s it listen I don’t care who you are how good you are whatever the deal is taking three years off Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali was off for three years he never looked the same when he came back he was still great still did amazing things but never looked like he looked before he took three years off it’s tough to do and and I don’t know I mean a lot of you guys in here are Combat Sports guys might might know the answer this but um who other than Jon Jones is taking three years off and come back and looked as incredible as he did go in there and finish a guy in the heavyweight division a division in which he’s never fought before as quickly and as easily as he did maybe George Saint Pierre but he had a tough time with Bisping too yeah I mean I don’t know if anybody’s ever done it like Jon Jones yeah it’s only the greatest ones ever so yeah that’s the show thank you cool thank you good night everybody foreign I know not the outcome you were hoping for tonight but uh just give us your immediate thoughts on the fight I know some people felt you won Sean O’Malley was in here he said he thought you won did he feel you won sure why not I gotta I gotta rewatch the fight I just know the improvements that I uh that I have to make to uh to flip that you know it’s like yeah I fought my ass off at the same time it’s it has been three years but I had a great training camp you know could have done more or could have adjusted and I could have done more but could it adjusted on some things and that’s that’s kind of what what bugs me a little bit just stupid little errors like particularly that first round I was winning it put him to his back I just allowed him to kind of kind of steal it at the very end and I mean there’s a lot of people think that I won I mean I don’t know you tell me I mean typically the way I see it if I don’t if I don’t dominate like like just it’s just hard man I’m such a competitor man I don’t think people realize that like to me it’s it’s all or nothing if I’m not first I’m last um I know there was some moments of success but you kind of sat there like do you think in some of those sequences if you didn’t have the three years like before when you’re fighting would you have in the little sharper there do you think the time off had a lot to do with it because I know you feel you’re a smarter fighter now but was the execution just not there yeah probably like even when I retired after I won the Olympics I retired for three years it was it was incredible the fact that I made it all the way this I made it all the way to the semifinals at the Olympic trials against the number one guy in the world and I literally I missed the Olympic team by that much I only had like maybe seven eight matches of competition but just to like take it there you know you know sometimes you make your own bed and that’s that’s what happens um you know I gotta go back and really think about what is it that I that I want to do because I just I’m about to chase greatness man I’m not just I’m just not out here just to fight just to fight man just to hear the crowd Roar you guys tell me good job oh I think you won like my my dream is to just reach mountains uh nobody’s ever climb and I think uh and and that’s probably that’s partially why I take my my resume that serious and that’s probably why I even started to stick because because I am proud of it you know can I say it the Olympic champ the Flyway champ the batting Weight champion of the world the greatest combat athlete of all time like that’s uh you know that these this is the stuff that motivates me and uh it is what it is man I I will say this man algae was awkward as hell dude like he was like I Now understand the I thought it was just his his breath of the fact that it was probably a little smelly but the dude was he he was he is a little awkward in there if you don’t have those right guys to mimic him it’s just it’s different it’s it’s just different because he’s a freestyler like he’s just uh you don’t he’s out there making adjustments on the move or he’s just moving just to move where he’s doing certain things just to do and it’ll message you a little bit what do you think I know and when you talk to Rogan in there he said you got you’re kind of internally conflicted um it’s been a few more minutes not too long but if you had to BET right now do we see flight ever again watch the fight I think that’s the biggest team Indiana did it it was pretty cool that then it did help me remove my my gloves which is really nice I got a nice little uh handshake from him too I don’t know man I I gotta lay back you know my wife’s pregnant like we’re getting ready to have another kid and uh even these last you know two to three months like not being able to give my kid that attention that I got I’m I’m a good father man I love spending time with my kid I love playing with them and it’s just like cutting weight not holding her kind of neglecting that like just having a lot of my training Partners play with her it’s almost like well those are the stuff that uh you know maybe to a lot of people maybe a lot a lot of you guys don’t give a but to me it’s it’s the time with my kid means the world to me especially the fact that I have another another one on the way no it’s a and just last thing for me um it still shows you’re held in high regard you probably haven’t seen this but Brandon Moreno uh took to Instagram and basically called you out he said after his next fight he wants to fight you in Mexico City he would even move up to bantamweight he said f the belts and that’s a fight he seems to badly want I guess now everybody wants a piece of me huh I guess we’ll talk about it I mean Money Talks if the UFC wants to put it together and there’s a nice little budget and for both of us I ain’t doing it in Mexico though hell no we can do it here in America or something like that but I’m not opposed to any of that yeah no to just immediately start building your next fight but what exactly is the issue for people who don’t know between you and Brandon ah we’re friends at one point he even lived with me for for a minute and uh got him on The Ultimate Fighter show that didn’t uh that didn’t plan out that didn’t work out uh I did I we picked them we try to pick them second due to uh the way the stats work and the team stuff he ended up on the other team he ended up training with benavidez and uh we just became unfriends you know what I’m saying but we’re close at one point but that that’s the last of it I’m thinking of like I’m not I’m after gold man like my biggest thing was to was to sincerely beat Al Joe fight O’Malley and then go after volcanovsky if I had a close fight a close Split Decision with aljo I mean what I had planned with volkanovsky’s just like man you know it hurts me it it that’s what burns it’s not that algal fight you know what I’m saying is the fact that what I had already premeditated I would never come back if I didn’t think I could do something like that losing a split decision where a lot of people think that I won it’s just like I don’t know man I saw I’m a little confused man I’m a little pissed and I’m a little yeah uh anybody think that I want here you guys can be sincere man I did for what I have from what I understand everyone cage side saw it closer to your way and then people online and watching the broadcast saw it closer to his way so I don’t know we could do that but um Daniel wants to give but if not I’m just gonna sit down and really talk to the wife and see what uh see what I want to do you know I I don’t know if this is something you even care about at this point but do you view the way that that fight between him and Sean O’Malley could go and do you have a favorite in that fight who could probably win it if if Alto can’t take him down he’s in trouble you know because Sean does have been striking Sean does go to the body very well he does have those kicks up the middle but I’ve been in there with algeman too I think he’s a gamer so it all depends I think uh obviously having a close fight with aljo I I gotta go with him you know what I’m saying I think uh I think O’Malley hasn’t fought now the competition that alja has fought and now you can kind of I can shake his hand you know what I’m saying I can be like hey salute I mean not to just throw options at you and this will be the last one for me I mean they have a problem with marab in that he can’t fight for the title maybe you could go take that care of that problem for them you beat his teammate you get a rematch right away hey I love the story lines you guys are giving me okay okay I’m gonna I’m gonna I’m gonna take some time I’m gonna take some time and uh and just see talk to Ali talk to my management and then uh it opens up a lot of doors because you also have a lot of other Killers too you know with Sam Hagen and uh you know Umar like depends depends what can kind of come together uh I’m not sure if you’d have time to see this but Conor McGregor posted a video to his Twitter offering you some advice for your next fight telling you maybe you should switch stances and it’ll go better your way and offer you some coaching tips don’t got on my resume that’s all I gotta say you know he’s been stopped after a three-year layoff what I was able to do and compete and then here and here in the booze from the crowd once uh you know they announced the winner I mean that says a lot to me but there’s still levels and I I still know that I could get better too but guys like even like you know selling this fight like it’s okay man bring the hate maybe it’ll motivate me you know I’m not one of these guys that was just like yeah I’m a little pissed because I hate losing but I love it I love it so thank you Connor Henry way over way over to you right here Henry um I wanted to uh sorry about that joke too last time it was just too good like you can’t be asked how much I weighed it was a good joke I appreciated it um you know I wanted to ask about that crowd reaction were you surprised at times to hear that Henry Henry Henry yeah yeah I mean I think I think Elgin might be the real Hill dude I thought I was a hill for a minute I mean uh I’m I’m confused in that sense too and when it comes to to Connor’s messages one of the things that he has said is that he believes you’re I mean you talked about your resume he was quite critical of your resume he said 16-2 in in MMA he he said you’re a novice in the game what’s your response to that yeah I do have you know for the amount of fights that I do have I am like I haven’t been fighting like a lot of these other guys you know it just shows the levels of where I could get to me but look at the people who have beaten nope Demetrius TJ you know what I mean uh dominant Cruz you know after a three-year layoff I had a split you know I lost a split decision to the current champ now if I decide to make this run I will reclaim that bout again you know but like I said before like my my goal is my goal is to go up to 145 pounds like that’s where that’s kind of where I draw the line you know thank you Henry over here um foreign foreign [Music] guys I’ve been doing this since age 11 to age 33 at the highest levels and won everything I’ve ever desired to do I’m not awkward for the crowds I’m not I’m not out here I’m not even though I portray that on the cameras I’m not out here yeah I may Flex on it I’m out here to make history and if I can’t make history I’m not I’m not doing this like that’s all that’s how that’s how much of a competitor that I’m just telling my coach yeah you won you won but I didn’t win the belt’s not around my waist you know and and I just gotta talk to my family talk to my wife and then just take it from there it has nothing to do with anybody has nothing to do with ego it just has to do with me you know it’s like trying to climb out Everest and you don’t do it you know you either do it or you don’t that’s it it’s okay it’s gonna be supposedly um so [Music] Brandon Alexander important is maintenance [Laughter] be honest you’re my friend yeah it wasn’t a robbery could have gone either way but I had you winning my Hebrew brother question for you you’re the ultimate competitor how does this feeling compare to the first DJ fight wow DJ me up the first time we fought um this feels more like the Benavides fight or uh I lost and people say hey dude you won bro like I feel that feeling again but I but the Bow’s not around my waist smell you know what I’m saying and I think that’s what uh you guys could Pat me on the back or tell me that it was a close fight oh yeah I thought you won blah blah blah but where’s my belt you’re always adjusting and changing things taking it fight to fight is there anything you would have done differently I know it’s fresh in your mind but is there anything you would have done differently leading up to this fight if you could have done it over again someone kind of slip away he kind of stoled it after I had taken them down I relaxed a little too much Against the Cage I probably should have respected his cage a little bit more I was trying to catch a breather in there just to kind of you know catch my threshold and be good but handed up still in it little things like that man that kind of bother me because that’s the stuff that I hit on people you know and lastly now that he has a victory over you where would you put algae main Sterling amongst the all-time bantamweights in UFC history put him at number one you have to look at the people that he’s beating already yes they give us a rematch there we go question for you Henry on your left far left um the counter wrestling was excellent he wasn’t able to get in any real shots on you you’re able to stuff I think pretty much all of them or at least made him had to chain a few things I noticed you weren’t a whole lot of offensive wrestling initiating the wrestling exchanges was that on purpose or did that just that was the flow of the fight was a game plan how’d that play out no okay because I noticed that algebra he likes to take breathers like when he’s on bottom if you even notice when I was on top of him like I kind of I made him get up I’m like because he’ll do certain things or he’ll be on bottom and he’ll just chill out he’ll just hang he’ll stall out there so to me it was like I I was going to start with the takedown as if I was able to fatigue them and really break them down and then bring the takedowns in and then really get on top of them and start hurting them but if I wasn’t doing that I got to keep it on my feet because it’s not enough because he will catch his breather so that’s kind of more of where the game plan was kind of going for like for me you know just suggesting and uh I had I wanted to break him down first before I started really picking up and bringing that restaurant and I wasn’t doing that you know what do you mean by that I wasn’t I didn’t hurt him enough to really do that so take my chances of my feet to really solidify something or win the rounds out like I said man he’ll catch the breathers like I’ve seen it with yawn and I’ve seen it with a lot of these other Fighters would perhaps a breather not maybe have won you around for him for you one you around if you’re on top and he’s just stalling out I just didn’t know I just didn’t know how the card I just didn’t know how the rounds were so I just I just I gotta go back and re-watch that fight like everything’s kind of a blur a little bit Henry over here uh congratulations on a tremendous performance especially three years away he looked like uh you never stepped away uh is it hard being the pair that you are to see the positives I mean you guys packed this house sold out crowd broke records you performed like you didn’t take a step away from the cage um is it hard to see the positives right now just being the compare that you are yeah it is hard it is hard it is hard but I like I said man I gotta go back rewatch that fine and just take it from there you know I I know there’s a better version to me but you know take risks man go in there and try to scrap it you know like the only thing I can promise is my best and my best wasn’t enough I ran to your buddy Nick and we were getting a loss in the arena trying to find his four seats but uh nevertheless we talked uh it just seems like you’re a perfectionist you get to the highest level of the sport wrestling and MMA being that perfectionist uh it are you is this going to just take time for you to get back get acclimated to you’re a perfectionist obviously being a father a husband like living this life and navigating these new steps in life that you have taken is it just gonna take time just to you know balance everything out and find a way to be a perfectionist in all these different areas of your life especially being a newfound father yeah and it is different and there’s one thing that I will say that I never planned on doing is fighting when I had kids because to be the best in the world is you have to be so selfish and when I’m in fight camera you have to be social selfish it’s all about you it is it to me it was a bit different with the family but there’s no excuse you know what I’m saying because there’s there’s love and there’s other motivations that comes with that stuff but uh that’s kind of where I stand anyway who got the bonus did we get a bonus for now no thank you Henry you you were talking about the benavidez fight before how long did it take you to kind of process that defeat you know which you obviously you kind of have people saying okay we think you won but you didn’t feel like you won how long did it take you to process that do you think that maybe it’ll play out similarly for you here yeah maybe maybe I just think because it’s been three years and I’ve been able to help a lot of people um you know do some amazing things and make certain adjustments for them that it’s been uh it’s just different man it’s like you can’t you can’t serve two masters you know and I I have to make that decision because if I’m in full time on what if I’m gonna do this and I’m in full time you know or I just can’t dabble into both you know like I said guys like my biggest thing is I want it all if I can’t have it all I don’t want none of it and I mean that you were talking about earlier in the week you guys were planning on doing some stuff in the city maybe go get this piece of that kind of thing is this the type of thing where maybe you change plans are you still going to try and do some family stuff and try to get out there and move away from this at least temporarily yeah of course man like it’s uh I I owe it to my wife I owe it to my family you know I’m going to Brazil here in uh in a couple in a few days we’re gonna enjoy the city a little bit you know Pizza might be a little bitter but you know we’re gonna we’re gonna enjoy it like Henry just got one for you on your left so I know there was a lot of talk about the grappling between him and D3 and all that stuff but once you got in there and now that it’s done you just talk about how close of a matchup it really was those grappling exchanges were pretty nice to see and really close yeah what was uh what were the takedown ratios I don’t even know I don’t know I don’t know the stats off the top of my head that’ll help Wi-Fi is struggling yeah what do you think Mike what’d you think of the fight cage that I thought you were up 3-1 going into the fifth but that was only one angle no replays anything like that so it’s kind of hard to see um but that first round was very close and I think the back take was a big piece of it uh takedowns he was credited with four you’re credited with three he had 135 significant strikes he had 99. control time you had five minutes he had four okay so I won [Laughter] yeah uh yeah do The Duda either way dude you’re a wrestler you know what I’m saying like he was able of course dude you know if he was able to he did say something if I’m able to lock my hands it’s different and then I felt that I’m just like you know what I mean like I shouldn’t have taken it that I should have just you know could have defended a little earlier rather than just kind of just hanging out but sometimes I’ll I’ll leave people there so they can carry my weight to fatigue you know and I’ll do that and that’s from wrestling all these years that he was able to kind of carry that gas tank you know and uh I think that’s where it was at for him it was it was his threshold I wasn’t expecting him to continue to keep coming like that did a good job dude you did a good job hey Triple C back here quick one for me um they just posted the score card and in the fifth round the same judge that scored your fight against Joseph benavidez for Benavides was the one that scored um it for aljo in the fifth round who is it what’s his name by the way I mean according to the scorecards Derek clearly oh he’s got something I don’t know if I owe money I don’t know what I just don’t know guys I mean it is what it is I gotta re-watch that fight and then they want to give another title shot let’s do it yeah thank you guys so much dude I really appreciate it man you know I try to put that you know I try to make everything entertaining dude and uh I appreciate you guys I really do Master seriously it’s been three years and it’s since I come back but coming back I’m just like man it’s you guys are diehards too man just like us so I appreciate I appreciate each and every one of you I’m out foreign more articles I guess let me guess no one else you’ve had a fee obviously Milestone victories in your career but I gotta imagine that this one in New Jersey feels as sweet as any of the rest of them this one in New Jersey is definitely the sweetest for multiple reasons my first main event taking on a legend someone’s so accomplished like Henderson is not not easy task man like yeah we both do YouTube channels and we analyze and break down fights but dude the guy is freaking smart um I don’t think a lot of people can even appreciate what was going on in the middle of that octagon both of us making adjustments to each other’s adjustments it was a high level physical chess match and uh thankfully uh I think I came out just a little bit better and maybe that means my YouTube channel is a little bit better but you you know you said you think it came out a little bit better were you confident when it was going to the judges when they’ve got announced the split were you a bit nervous what was the emotions I mean I was confident I won I was like I definitely feel like I won that 3-2 but at the same time I was like you just never know man like people give ring generalship to the guy who’s just walking forward and making a mean face and it’s like the other guy’s circling around you dancing around you making you look silly you’re missing and they they give it to the other guy because he came forward I’m like that doesn’t score scoring fights is literally doing damage if I’m dancing around you I’m using my footwork and you can’t touch me that’s me controlling the Octagon if you were cutting me off as I’m pressured you’re pressuring me and I’m on the back side of the cage and you’re Landing shots you’re controlling the Octagon you’re controlling the action but that’s not what happened tonight you know so um close fight but I definitely thought I won and edged it out in my personal opinion I know there’s going to be some critics out there saying oh once again he has a controversial win he didn’t really win that match SMD bro get used to this face because it’s not going anywhere guys it’s not uh you’re obviously a fan of this I’m curious you know got into some wrestling exchanges took us back a couple of times but what was it like to Tango in the resting Department with a gold medalist I think I’m an Olympic gold medalist now I think what was that three takedowns I think at least two you got four four you got three I lost count but uh no seriously the strong guy uh I knew I was gonna do better in the clinch um with the body lock he did a great job utilizing the inside leg trip um even though I kind of knew it was coming but there’s certain positions I was like I want him to tie up with me there because I feel like I could bang him to the body a couple of times with some knees and I know Mighty Mouse hurt him there and I felt like I can expose that situation so I felt like if he didn’t get the trip he might be a little bit lost in those positions and probably try to bail I think he might have over committed with the wrestling and gave me more opportunities to take him down than he probably would have liked but that’s what I’m saying is such a high level chess matches game Adventures Split Second decisions and uh I came out on top of that yeah I mean just I’m personally curious do you think he was the the highest skilled guy you thought just from terms of spending time in the cage was his adjustments you’re like wow this guy is really Elite uh 100 I mean piorian high level Striker uh TJ Dillashaw high level Striker as well um even though he came in slightly compromised I fought with a torn label him as well so you know I’m not giving TJ an excuse to get out of that um but Henry came prepared and that’s what I liked about this matchup there was no excuses No One’s Gonna Come In Here and as soon as the fight’s over I banged up my toe and I couldn’t move the right way and ah shut up man nobody wants to hear that we all have opinions we all have excuses and they all stink nobody wants to hear that you know so um like I said highly skilled guy I came out on top most wins in the bandweight division you know I don’t even like two of my own horn but the records speak for themselves I’ve been saying this for a long time people can keep doubting me but I’ve only had three opponents that were not ranked in my entire career that I fought and uh and I think it was in my win streak that I fought yeah three of them that weren’t ranked so I think it’s about time people start putting some respect on my name next up Sean O’Malley you had your in cage face off curious if you were able to take anything out of that and they look like they won or Dana was saying he would like to see it maybe August in in Boston if that’s something that works you thoughts on Tron O’Malley uh my thoughts on Sean O’Malley is that is frail frail you think if I could take down a short stocky guy like Henry who’s actually a gold medalist and has good takedown defense what am I going to do to Sean O’Malley like let’s be honest here guys like yeah he’s been promised to title shy he opted not to take the title shot and gave Henry a chance to come back and Chase history I beat Henry now there’s no more running you know you either want to swim with the big boys or you don’t if not get the out of the pool go up away class or some don’t keep sitting around here talking and barking and not saddling it up and taking the opportunities that are given this is what the Sport’s all about you take the opportunities that are given to you I guarantee you we step in there I think I fold that man in half in one round this is just gonna same thing I did to San Hagen go out there pressure forward he’s going to use his footwork I’m gonna cut off the cage like I was just talking about eventually he’s going to be on his back foot let him throw a stupid kick that I’m Gonna Catch I’m gonna body lock him I’m gonna fold them in half like a lawn chair and that’s gonna be the fight Sign Sealed Delivered don’t even need to see it now you just gave us the uh the perfect breakdown right here in front of you um just that chaos in there though like a lot of people something with him and murab um didn’t feel like it was close to getting out of control for a moment in the cage there afterwards I don’t know I was I was in a different world um I was ready to jump on his back if I needed to and I think I might have tapped him and turned him around or I don’t even know what I did but I was just like yo don’t with my boy that’s that’s pretty much it do you think he knows that you’re the tougher fight for him he tweeted out earlier today before the event like please Henry win this fight yeah 100 it’s like you want to fight the guy who’s five foot four and you’re five eleven you’re a better Striker you’re longer your Ranger it’s just it just makes more sense for him to fight Henry gives him the best opportunity to become a UFC champion Styles make fights physicality makes fights and that’s what people have to do you have to analyze the situation and break it down and I think sometimes people just forget about all those things and they just look at oh he’s so good ah the flash is here it’s colorful and he smokes weed dude I smoke weed like what the hell are we talking about like you know what I mean um definitely the tougher fight Jiu Jitsu wrestling I can strike my striking is very awkward I will say even with Henry I thought I was going to piece him up with a couple of shots from the outside and it didn’t quite go that way in my head it looked a lot better as like reality versus what it looks like so I know there’s got to be some things I got to tighten up with that especially going in there with a guy like a Molly because he’s had almost a year to make adjustments but I’ll be ready and um I I’m not priding myself to be a striker I am a Grappler foremost so if you have a problem with that like khabib says his father’s plan I’m coming out there with a purpose and take you down and drown you and that’s it is it exciting to prepare for a fight where your opponent is more or less one-dimensional compared to these recent guys that you’ve been fighting who you know have strong wrestling uh Jiu Jitsu and striking is it more exciting yeah and is it going to be maybe an easier camp and more straightforward approach for you what you need to do and none of these camps are easy man I I got some hammers that I train with um you know and it’s a fight to fight like he can easily land a one-two that stings me right on the chin and put me down and then that’s just what it is it’s a fist fight like anything could happen in there and I’m I understand that the last time I underestimated somebody I was staring at the lights and I don’t remember staring at the lights I woke up in a hospital I came to my senses in the hospital because Marvel rise you know so uh I’ve been humbled by this Sport and I think O’Malley needs to be humbled again I guess him breaking his foot against Cheeto that wasn’t enough for him so I got to do it again to him and just last thing for me uh Henry was just sitting here before you he feels maybe he won the fight but he’s saying he had to watch it back and he seems very internally conflicted about what he’s going to do in the future what would be your advice Jim do you think he should stick around and be part of this stack Division and work towards a rematch is for this Division and I think more people are going to want a gun for him to add his name to their resume Henry’s no easy out for anybody I know he doesn’t like cutting the weight down to 125. he was a thick boy in there um I I think it’d be fun to have them around for sure and uh you know I plan on fighting O’Malley and then going up and chasing volcanovski so I’m taking Henry’s blueprint and I just need to get one more and then I think that’s it for 135. champ on that note congratulations on the victory so it’s a guarantee that you only have one more fight at the 135 pound weight division before you go up to 145. it just depends on how the fight goes you know if I lose you know knock on wood then you know I stick around morale gets his shot at 135 for the belt and uh I hope him and it is what it is fighting at 135 it yeah I I don’t say I’m the bigger guy but it’s I make the weight you know but the weight cut is not easy and it’s not as fun going through the training camps when you’re you have to make sure you’re predominantly cutting weight when you can be skill building and I’m not saying that’s how much weight I cut it’s just I’m very lean and I’ve gotten older it makes it harder 145 could be a breath of fresh life for me and it can make me it can make it easier for me to fight more frequently so that’s that’s kind of the way I’m looking at it I could bulk up a little bit maybe I’m not fading in that fifth round as much as I’m doing now I don’t think I really faded in the fifth round tonight I think it was just Henry’s energy and his demeanor to want to win that round uh really shine through and I was kind of kicking myself about that because I want to dominate the fifth round and show my dominance and I I was really pissed about that so that’s one thing that’s probably why I was a little more reluctant to celebrate because I want to put a stamp on it something kind of like a highlight or a cool ending to the fight even like a Max Holloway thing pointing to the ground like let’s go like I wanted that but then he got to take down kept Me Against the Cage I was like this is not the way I want the end of the fifth round to go but it is what it is a positive thing he said about you was you are the greatest band of Wayne of all time ask them that so when you hear that from Henry sahudo how does that make it feel I I appreciate it um I let the fans decide that though and uh it is what it is I can’t really that’s that’s not for me to call that’s why that’s why I love sports because everyone has a different opinion on who’s the greatest and why they’re the greatest and uh that’s up for interpretation so I let the fans decide on that and uh for me I know I’m up there I know I’m in that conversation and at the end of the day I’m comfortable in my own skin you know I don’t need that for approval to feel self-worth you know I’m happy I accomplish a lot in this sport I accomplish a lot in this division I’m making history my name’s gonna be in the history books for years to come decades to come and good luck to anybody out there who’s going to try to chase that resume because it’s going to be very tough to beat and lastly you’ve been dealing with nagging injuries quite some time now you went down to Columbia bio accelerator he got the stem cells how you feeling overall with this camp and you think you’re going to have to need any surgeries or anything like that before the next fight I mean right now I’m feeling good I think I could take a few weeks off and let the stem cells continue to do their thing build on the injuries with the rehab stuff that I’m doing over at the ufcpi algeman stone days May 23rd so I get to celebrate that back in Long Island and Nassau County so I’m excited about that I get to have some down time with my friends actually create some memories outside of fighting so I’m looking forward to that as well um just on a new partnership with nerd Focus so there’s a lot of good things nootropic energy drink so I’m just looking towards the future keep my body healthy do as best as I can um to stay consistent I would like to fight in September then fight again in December people think I just want to sit on the sidelines I only so guys I don’t want to settle the sidelines I want to be active but when I get injured through these training camps it’s hard you know so I’m trying to do the best that I can all of us like to make money all of us want to be active and we know the fans love it so that’s what we’re trying to do we try to put it on the line for them time in and time out congratulations on a huge win you packed this house you broke records you and Henry put on a master meat piece like you guys were van go and rembrand out there you guys paid a masterpiece in that on that campus is this more than just a title defense for you this is validation you are everything that you say you are uh I I felt validated well before this but I know for the fans some of the fans out there they might feel like this gives me a little bit more validity but everyone’s gonna always have an opinion they’re going to have something to criticize and say and at the end of the day that’s not for me to judge um it is what it is like what like what can I do I can’t force someone to believe what I believe it’s either you agree you don’t agree I’m out here trying to chase something great I’m out here really trying to do something with my life and I’m not saying other people aren’t uh but this ain’t an easy sport man there’s a lot of people who don’t stick around they don’t last very long barely even make it to their second UFC contract I’ve been here since 2014 and that says a lot that says a lot about my resilience says a lot about perseverance just not quitting giving up on yourself when the time gets tough I lost two fights in a row split decision to two guys ranked in the top ten and uh my job was on the line you know that after my very first contract going into my second one after talking a whole lot of about wanting to fight get paid and then I lose two fights in a row so that’s how quickly things could change I could be here one day down here the next so I I don’t take it for granted whatsoever I think that’s what people should try to realize about life just don’t take nothing for granted man life is short go out there chase the things that you want to do and go get it man don’t let no one dictate or tell you what you can and cannot do because if you do that your entire life you’ll never get nowhere and if I listen to everyone else who said I was done I had no chin and whatnot you know I’ll just be back home just being a gym teacher and never knowing what I could have truly accomplished because I didn’t chase my dream and my goals here I am today three defenses in a row like life is good like I had no idea I’d be here bought my mom a house bought her a car like like this is icing on the cake for me like thank you to the UFC staff for providing this opportunity for me to ever set out to do something like this and gratitude is the the biggest way of just showing signs of respect for me and um yeah I might talk a little to my opponents but at the end of the day I know we’re all chasing the same dreams and like I said before sometimes in this boy you got crushed another man’s dreams to accomplish your own you showcase so much creativity and intelligence in there and um the strategy it seemed like because some of it was just way over my head some of the technique that you were uh you were showcasing but what’s the strategy to make sure that he didn’t get that shot off because if people would stay out of the pocket uh and that’s what what Henry uses because people are afraid of the takedown so you know he he always keeps people at Bay because they’re afraid to take down he’s able to get shots off what’s the strategy from the Great regulango and the great Matt Sarah and yourself to keep that pressure on and how soon were you able to make adjustments that did you have a plan B and plan C in case uh that didn’t work yeah I I always have a plan B and plan C you got to be able to adjust and I think coming into this fight collectively we all knew you like if I get the fight to the ground he’s but you know for the most part I didn’t really get to do too much on the ground because of the timing of when I got the takedowns uh so it was just more so trying to be creative on the feet not taking too much damage and inflicting as much as I can to try to out point where I can outpoint and if I could get the takedown try to do as much damage as I can and in the clinch beat him up in the clinch being the bigger heavier guy longer guy uh I know he has some trouble with Mighty Mouse in the clinch position and I felt my range and my length being able to just lift my knees attack the body I’ll be able to beat him up in those positions and that’s what we did tonight um so collectively we all have like our ideas that we think about which can be the keys to Victory and that’s just kind of the way we go like at this stage of the game if these Fighters aren’t taking notes that’s a sad thing you have to be able to adjust in the middle of the fight if you don’t if you can’t make adjustments good luck because it is hard man you you get to the top you don’t get hit by accident you have to be one of those guys who can flip the switch change it up and literally split seconds and make reads and one more question for me can we all agree after this week that marab is a National Treasure and needs to be protected at all costs I think we all need a friend like marab in life just saying oh 100 man like I said this guy would take his shirt off for anybody even not even knowing any one of you guys he would do that for you guys that’s just the type of dude he is there’s not a lot of good people in the world like that today um yeah I think sometimes people forget like even though you know we fight this kind of a rough Savage sport but we’re still human at the end of the day and he’s like a prime example of what it’s like to be outside of the cage like we’re in here we’re trying to be vicious we’re trying to break records we’re trying to hurt each other but outside of that you know he’s a really good dude we’re really good people at least I like to think that and uh I think that’s the way you kind of got to live your life like I treat the janitor the same way I treat the president of the UFC like this there’s no difference you know I think that shows a lot of character and I when I see people judge people and treat people different ways because of their status in life it I I don’t like that I I can’t get behind someone who’s like that jump over to the to the far right over here um I wanted to ask about did you get a chance to see Conor McGregor’s messages after the the fight he was very complimentary he said you won the fight 4-1 and he was uh he was not very complimentary of Henry’s performance Khan is my guy proper 12 baby let’s go now I I didn’t see the tweet yet um but I do I would like to talk to Connor about uh pursuing my own rum career with my own drink I’m looking to still launch my own line I got some stuff lined up some designs and some things like that in the works uh I do like the drink I actually didn’t drink this entire training camp which is a first for me in a very long time uh but you know life is about creating new adventures and things like that eventually this door is going to close I want to make sure I set myself up so I do appreciate the words from Connor he was very complimentary of murab before his fight with Pio deyan when we met him in Vegas and uh I like watching fight he’s a pioneer of the sport like if you can’t respect that guy um I don’t know what to tell you like I know some of this stuff some of the Antics could get a little crazy but what he’s done and accomplished I think is hard to uh ignore final two and aljo right here congratulations how was it having uh coach Sarah back in your corner tonight I was great you know it was cool especially like this is we’re back on the East Coast we’re in New Jersey where everyone fought coming up because it was illegal in New York for such a long time so to have the old band back together was cool to to have it the energy was positive everyone was dialed in alert and uh that’s what it’s all about everyone being on the same page and um like even the other guys that I’ve had in the past like like for me I I I’m I’m good with like it doesn’t really matter who’s in the corner but it does it does matter like the camaraderie kind of thing you know so it was cool having that again having that original uh Long Island feel again so that was nice to do and on top of that making history with the guys that I started with you know so um definitely appreciative of that and glad he took uh um my offer to come back and and jump in with me and chase a dream I’ll go over here you mentioned not drinking in the lead up to this fight how did your body feel and kind of respond to that and do you think that’s something you’ll be repeating nah I like the drink man you know what it is I these training camps are so hard after I have a crazy horse barn session if I feel like I’m in a certain threshold of my conditioning that’s like my release you know everyone has a release that has advice something that kind of lets them reset and it’s not like I get drunk or wasted doing training camp but I have like one or two drinks and that’s it and uh it makes me feel better makes me feel more happy going through the grind because if you’re just serious all the time and then you’re not even guaranteed to win you know like I could have lost that fight and it’d be like well I drank I didn’t drink for no reason you know what I mean so it’s about sacrifices and things like that hey I do sacrifice all the other stuff but you know you got to have a little bit of a balance so it’s not something I’m gonna say I’m gonna go back to um this is more so because of the injury that I had I wanted to give the stem cells the proper time not destroy it with alcohol and uh I I can’t say I felt a lot better I really can’t say that but um maybe there’s something to it I don’t know but for me I’d rather be happy and train versus like thinking about it and be like man I wish you know so I’m not gonna go I don’t I don’t condone binge drinking but I do condone just enjoying your life and um having a balance there’s got to be a work-life balance and the other question I wanted to ask was about your teammate Matt frivola who got a big victory as well what did you think of that Steamroller Big Win baby welcome to the top 15 baby the steam has arrived we got some Killers coming up man there’s a lot of Young Guns coming up uh for vola finally getting his breakthrough shine three Knockouts in a row in the first round uh we got Nasim also uh third round TKO a lot of 55s we got some hammers man I I try to give these guys shine as much as I can because when I was coming up I didn’t have anybody doing that for me so I try to highlight these guys as much as possible they are super special talent and if you guys like Strikers those are the guys to watch like I ain’t the striker guys I’m the grappler I’m gonna take you down I’m gonna drown you backpack you those guys they bang so if you want to watch some high level of striking those are the guys to keep your eyes on because they’re fun to watch you gotta watch their sparring sessions it’s like it’s pay-per-view it’s literally pay-per-view sessions thank you thank you guys man appreciate you all be safe and get home safe and uh have a drink for me Cinco de Mayo baby let’s go okay